Winter's Tale
by dovahkiidding
Summary: Queen Elsa of Arendelle was slowly getting ahold of her powers and striking up an unexpected romance when a curse ultimately took everything away from her. Now, Elizabeth Snow must learn to break out of her shell and let people in. (Set during Season 1) Elsa x Jack Frost
1. The Meeting

**Hey, everyone! I know, the last thing I should be doing is starting yet another story while I'm working on two others, but I just needed to get this one out! I saw ROTG for the first time and needed to get my Jelsa ship out there. I hope you all enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Frozen_, _Rise of the Guardians_, _Once Upon a Time_, or any of the characters mentioned here. I even took a line or two from the flashback from one of the outtake songs from _Frozen_, "We Know Better." And yes, the title was taken from Shakespeare's work of the same name.**

**Flashbacks are in italics and Storybrooke time is not.**

* * *

_The cries of an infant filled the castle's eastern corridor just as the sun had begun to set over the fjord. Young Elsa had been accustomed to this routine in the past four months since Anna's birth – the baby would stay quiet all day and stay up all night, meaning the nursemaids and the queen would be grumpy and irritable during the day._

_There was a ball tonight, however, and Elsa was in charge of watching Anna and warning the nursemaids when the young babe began to cry while they scrambled about to make sure things were perfectly in order._

_At four years old, Elsa usually kept her distance for fear that one of the maids would warn that she might hurt the baby or get her sick if she got too close. But tonight, Elsa sat by the window of Anna's bedroom, watching the gentle fall of snow over the palace's large courtyard, and drew on the fogged glass with her fingers, stopping when she heard the sure signs of a fussy Anna._

_Elsa scrambled over to Anna, pulling her small chair along with her and propping it beside her little sister's crib. She climbed onto it and gripped the elaborate railing, decorated with small paintings of Arendelle's crocus flower. The young princess gave Anna a stern look as the infant stared up at her with wide blue eyes brimming with tears. Anna's lip quivered, but Elsa held a finger out, stopping the baby immediately._

"_Anna, not tonight. Mama and Papa are seeing guests."_

_The baby merely stared back at her with a blank expression and flailed, making fussy noises and cooing. Elsa rested her chin upon the railing and pursed her lips._

"_You'll learn, Anna. You can't always cry to get what you want. You're going to see that everyone expects a lot from you. They're going to tell you there are things a princess should and shouldn't do. Crying is one of them. Or…"_

_Elsa shrugged, holding her hand out as Anna stared intently. A small globe of light began to form just over her palm, swirling in an orb of light and dark blues and whites before making a faint _swoosh_ sound and releasing a burst of tiny, glowing snowflakes over Anna's crib._

_That made Anna flail and squeal with joy, and Elsa smiled._

"_You like that? I'm glad. No one else does."_

_Elsa froze when she heard a faint tapping against the window and glanced over to see where it was coming from. The fogged glass she'd drawn on was now completely fogged over, no doubt a result of the ongoing cold temperature, and the young girl's shoulders slumped in relief when she realize the sound must have been nothing._

"_Stay here, Anna…I'll go get nanny."_

_She hopped off her chair and stopped once more at the same faint tapping sound. This time, Elsa approached the window, gasping when some invisible force on the other side began to trace over the snowy glass, mimicking the small flower she'd drawn earlier. Elsa tilted her head to the side and held her small hand out, placing it just below the drawing and pulling it back, revealing a small handprint underneath it. She waited a moment for something to happen and watched with wide eyes as a handprint formed just beside hers. This one was much larger, however, so it couldn't have possibly formed as a result of her own power._

_Elsa immediately reached up, unlocked the window and pulled it open, not caring about the gust of winter air that filled the room all of a sudden. That was another thing her parents worried about – her apparent immunity to the winter cold._

_The young girl climbed on the windowsill and held on tightly, looking around and calling out, "Hello?"_

_She huffed when no one answered and leaned forward to see if there was anyone on the courtyard below her. "Hel—" Elsa cried out when she lost her grip on the windowsill as another gust of wind blew inside and began to tilt back, only to be stopped by some invisible force inside the room. Instead of screaming, she merely lay there still as the force held her before placing her on her feet and shutting the window behind her. Elsa waved her small hands in front of her, "Hello? I know someone's there!"_

_That's when a form began to materialize before her. At first, she saw a bit of messy white hair tucked inside a hooded shirt. His face came next. A boy – or a man, Elsa guessed, because he was much taller than her. He had light blue eyes like her, she noted, and a friendly smile that kept her from running out the door in the first place. In all, she thought he was quite lovely to look at despite his ragged pants and bare feet. They were the first things she addressed, pointing down._

"_You're going to catch a cold, sir."_

_The man seemed surprised and laughed, which made Elsa huff and plant her hands on her hips. "It's not funny. I'm serious."_

_He kneeled in front of her and rested one arm on his knee while his other hand held onto a staff made of wood. "I can't catch a cold, little one. So…you can see me, can you?"_

_Elsa nodded, throwing her hands up as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "Of course I can see you!"_

_That made him laugh even more and he bowed his head, "Well, that's good to hear. Will you tell me your name, little princess?"_

"_I'm Princess Elsa of Arendelle, but my nanny tells me I'm not allowed to talk to strangers."_

"_Fair enough," The stranger smiled, nodding, "I'm no regular stranger, and I promise you're safe with me. You can say I'm a spirit of winter, of sorts. And I came by because I felt another presence producing winter magic…that was you, wasn't it?"_

_Elsa nodded, tucking her hands behind her back, "Yes, sir. But my mama and papa tell me to be careful because I can hurt someone. No one likes my powers." Her face fell then and she looked down at her feet._

"_Well, I think you're doing a great job. And I'm here to help you…guide you, even, whenever you need me. All you have to do is say my name while holding this."_

_He held his palm out and a similar orb to the once Elsa produced earlier appeared. But instead of bursting, it formed a small crocus made of ice._

"_I've never met anyone, much less a child, who can do what I do. Well…not exactly what I do, but you're a special one, little Elsa."_

_Elsa reached out and took the flower and examined it. It was cold to the touch, but showed no signs of melting whatsoever. She grinned and nodded, "I will call you if you teach me to make something pretty like this!"_

"_Perfect!" he said, reaching out to ruffle her hair before standing up and making his way toward the window. He opened it and glanced back, repeating his instructions "All you have to do is say my name: Jack Frost."_

* * *

"The kids should be out of school soon, Andy. If I don't have this store open and ready, they'll be rioting at the door!"

"Sheesh, Ellie. Calm down. It isn't as thought you haven't been doing this forever," her sister called out from the back room, appearing with a couple of cone sleeves and stocking them in their designated places, by size. "You should really get some help around here. _Paid_ help."

Andy gave her sister a reprimanding look as Ellie counted her drawer and shut it, locking it in place with a key. Ellie glanced back at the red-headed girl and shook her head, moving around the counter to unlock the doors and prop them open, sighing as a soft breeze blew in, signaling that fall would be coming sooner than she anticipated. Still, rain or shine, summer or winter, there were always children filing into her ice cream shop after school.

"Right on time," the blonde said, turning and making her way back toward the counter and readying her ice cream scoops, nudging Andy away. "Thanks for your help, sis. I've got it from here."

"Haven't you heard what I just said? You haven't had a day off in goodness knows how long, and you refuse to hire help. I mean, you make enough money, sis. I just don't want to see you work yourself to deat—"

"Andy!" Ellie interrupted before taking a deep breath and composing herself, "I'm fine. I've got this. Now, go do your homework or something."

"I graduated high school last year and most of my college classes don't assign homework," Andy muttered, grabbing her purse and making her way out of her parents' old ice cream shop. "I'll see you later."

Snowy Creamery had been standing since before Ellie and Andy Snow were even born. Their parents managed to make a great reputation for themselves when locals named Snowy the best ice cream shop in town. They would have claimed it was the best in the state, but no one ever seemed to have the guts to leave good ol' Storybrooke in the first place. Their daughters, Elizabeth and Andrea, were born when they were still quite young, but they raised them to be happy, polite little girls.

However, their untimely deaths had affected the entire community. Everyone showed up at the funeral. Ellie was eighteen at the time, so she was able to watch over her fifteen-year-old sister without having to hand her over to the state, but the deaths of their parents seemed to take a bigger toll on Elizabeth, who saw to it that the ice cream shop stayed open no matter what. She dropped out of her senior year and spent morning and night at the shop, taking care of finances, orders and maintenance on her own. Andy offered to help countless times, but Ellie insisted she focus on school instead. Andy had been accepted to several great schools outside of Maine, but she couldn't bring herself to leave Ellie on her own and, to Ellie's dismay, enrolled at the local community college, which prompted a whole other set of arguments.

The two had grown apart as a result of Ellie's dedication. No one seemed to understand that if she didn't stop, she would lose herself entirely.

* * *

Two hours later, Ellie sat back and sighed as the last child made their way to a small booth with his small rocky road. She still had about two hours before the store closed, but now that rush hour was over for the most part, she'd spend the rest of the night tidying up and placing orders before locking up at seven and heading to her apartment for some quality time with her kitten, Marshmallow.

Maybe she'd work on a small ice sculpture or two, she thought as she rinsed off a few ice cream scoops and placed them back in a small cup filled with fresh hot water. She'd been drafting a few possible ideas for her hobby, and she felt her skills had improved to where she'd be able to hire work for the ice cream shop after all and offer up freelance ice sculptures for parties and events.

Ellie tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and washed her hands when a deep voice behind her made her jump.

"Hello. I'd like to order."

"Yeah, sure!" She said, turning around and offering a polite smile. Oh, wow, this man was handsome, she thought. He was dressed professionally, in a pair of slacks and a white button-up shirt with a blue tie to pull the look together. He held what looked like a coat draped over his arm. It was still a little warm for those, she noted, but she assumed his job called for the outfit. His eyes were an alarming blue and his hair was slicked back and was so blonde it almost looked white. Ellie's own hair had always been a little light for her taste, and even made her appear a little too pale, but this man definitely made the look work.

"What can I get for you today, sir?"

"Oh, the usual."

Ellie stared at him with a scoop in her hand and knit her brows together, "Er…do you come here often?"

The question drew a surprised look from his face before he let out a chuckle and nodded, "Yes. Everyday, in fact. Usually during the rush, so I'm sure faces get a little blurry at one point."

"Oh…oh! I'm so sorry, Mr….."

"Winters. But that's what my students call me. You can call me Jake."

Ellie nodded and smiled, "What'll it be, Mr….uh, Jake?"

"A mint chocolate chip cone," he answered, keeping his gaze on her as she fumbled with her scoop a couple of times before scooping some of the ice cream into a large cone.

"Good choice. My parents had a secret recipe for these. I think you just had the last bit," Ellie rambled, sticking a spoon on top of the ice cream and handing him the cone with a couple of napkins.

"Well, lucky me…" His blue eyes continued to burn into hers, and soon she felt a little strange just standing there awkwardly.

"You know what? Why don't you have that one on the house. I'm sure I could use a little work on my customer service if I can't even recognize a regular."

Jake chuckled and nodded, "Thank you, I appreciate it. I'd offer you a little something in return, but I'm afraid all I've got is basic math and science and how to build a solar system in a shoebox."

Ellie laughed and shook her head as she pulled a rag out of her apron and moved around the counter to wipe a few tables down, "Hey, it's okay. I'll let you know if I'm building a volcano anytime soon. Science was never my best subject."

"Or maybe we can meet tomorrow morning for breakfast at Granny's? On me, of course."

She froze mid-wipe then and clenched her fingers over the rag before clearing her throat and turning to look at him, "Oh…I mean. I have to open tomorrow, but…"

"No, she doesn't!" A cheerful voice called out from the front door. Andy made her way inside with her boyfriend, Chris, and made a beeline toward Mr. Winters, holding her hand out and shaking his enthusiastically as she spoke, "I'm actually opening _for_ her, so she should be free. Goodness knows she needs a day off."

"Great!" Jake said, nodding at Chris as he made his way out, "I'll see you tomorrow morning, then!"

Ellie waited for the man to walk out before tossing the rag onto a nearby table and shouting, "What the hell, Andy?"

"You'll thank me for this, sis. I know how to open the store, so try not to think about it while you're on this date."

Ellie managed to mumble a few exasperated words under her breath, but supposed a coffee wouldn't kill her. She worked around Andy as she and her boyfriend sat at one of the booths, going over a bit of homework she needed help with. Finally, at seven, she shut the doors and locked it up until something made her pause. She squinted and looked out the glass windows, spotting the clock tower over the old library. It was exactly seven o'clock.

"That's funny. When did that old thing start working?"

Andy followed her gaze, "Oh, this morning, I think. It's nice to see Mayor Mills finally ordered a repair on it. I always forget my watch."


	2. A Little Fun

"_Elsa? Do you wanna build a snowman?"_

"_Go away, Anna," the young girl called back, hugging her knees to her chest as she stared out her window and watched ships sail across the fjord._

"_Okay, bye," came Anna's quiet reply._

_Elsa let out a soft sigh and waited for her sister's footsteps to fade out before jumping away from her window and scurrying toward the door, opening it just a crack to have a quick glimpse outside her room. While she refused to play with Anna and risk hurting her again, she couldn't deal with not being able to see her sister until she got her powers under control. Until then, she'd just watch her little sister walk away, wishing she could run after her and shout, "YES! Let's go build a snowman!"_

_A few seconds later, she shut the door and made her way toward her bed. She felt underneath her pillow until she found what she was looking for: a small ice sculpture of Arendelle's crocus flower. In the years she had it, it remained cold to the touch and showed no signs of melting._

_Elsa closed her eyes and hugged the flower close, inhaling deeply before breathing out and whispering the name: "Jack Frost."_

_Nothing happened at first. Elsa looked around to see if he was hiding and jumped back when a plume of smoke appeared in front of her, growing in size before fading slowly and revealing the man in question behind it._

"_Jack!"_

"_Hey there, little princess," he bowed deeply and looked up at her with a cheeky grin, "Long time no see."_

"_I did a terrible thing!" Elsa blurted._

_That got his attention. Jack sat on the carpeted floor in front of her, his legs crossed and staff resting on his lap, "Is everything all right?"_

_She shook her head and looked down, "I did something terrible."_

_Jack tilted his head to the side, waiting for her to continue._

"_Anna and I were playing and I hurt her. Now papa thinks I should learn to control my powers." She held her hands up as tears brimmed her eyes. Small globes began to form over her palms. "See?! I'm not doing it on purpose!"_

"_Hey, there. It's okay," Jack said softly, taking her hand in his. Immediately, the globes faded and she sniffled before giving him a small smile. "You're controlling it just fine."_

"_I can't help it when I get sad or scared, though."_

"_Then we shouldn't give you a reason to be sad or scared, right?" Jack stood up and gave his staff a wave. A few white sparks shot upward and exploded into snowflakes – no different than what Elsa had done the night before._

"_Come on, little princess. Let's have a little fun. What do you wanna do?"_

_Elsa thought for a moment as she watched the snowflakes hit the soft carpet before her eyes lit up and she asked, "Can we build a snowman?"_

* * *

"Where do you think you're going dressed like that?"

Ellie had managed to tug her sweater halfway on when she heard Andy's voice behind her. She pushed her arms in through the sleeves and tugged the thin cotton material down so it rested just above her waistline. She shrugged as she examined herself in the mirror: same jeans, tank top and sweater combo she usually wore.

"Getting ready for work. I've gotta count inventory and-"

"Oh, no you don't!" Andy shouted, pushing her sister's bedroom door open and making a beeline toward her closet and began shifting outfits here and there, "You can't just turn down a coffee date with a guy who looks like _that_. He's a teacher, right? You've probably got about an hour before school starts. I'll take care of inventory."

Ellie blinked at Andy's words, realization hitting her. "Oh…"

The redhead stopped rifling through Ellie's closet long enough to spin around and stare at her wide-eyed, "Don't tell me you forgot."

"I forgot."

Andy mumbled a few incoherent words and tossed a baby blue cotton dress at Ellie. It was a simple thing with a band wrapped around the waist to let it flare out at the bottom and thin spaghetti straps. Ellie held it up and glanced back at Andy.

"It's getting a little cold for thi—hey!" She ripped the white cardigan away from her face, "Fine. I'll change if you get out, but I'll make it back to the store for inventory."

Her sister kicked a pair of white flats her way as she made her way out of the room and waved a hand dismissively, "You're welcome. If I see you anywhere near the store before eight thirty, I'm locking up. Just think of the children, Ellie. They'll be heartbroken if they can't get their ice cream."

* * *

"Well, look who it is. I never thought I'd see you again, Elizabeth."

Ellie smiled weakly at Mrs. Lucas's greeting as she stepped into her diner. A few people turned to look at her before preoccupying themselves with their breakfasts. She gave the place a quick once-over but saw no Jake, which made her wonder whether she should just turn around and head to Snowy despite Andy's threat; but it would be embarrassing to just turn back now, she acknowledged, so she made her way toward a bar stool.

"Anything I can get you, dear? A coffee?"

"Oh, no, thanks. A hot chocolate would be great, though."

"Coming right up," Mrs. Lucas smiled, setting down a breakfast plate and ringing the small bell for Ruby to come pick it up. She then grabbed a white mug and began fixing up Ellie's drink, "So, what brings you here? I never thought you'd leave that ice cream shop. Really, dear, you're going to work yourself to death."

Ellie smiled weakly and folded her hands on the counter, twiddling her thumbs idly as she glanced at the clock, "You sound like my sister."

"Then I'm sure I'm not the only one who sees it."

She shrugged and straightened her spine, "I'm fine. My parents wouldn't want to see all their hard work go to waist."

"No," Mrs. Lucas agreed, "But I'm sure your parents wouldn't want to see their young daughter work herself to death, either."

Ellie blinked, unsure of what to say until a deep voice behind her interrupted the brief silence.

"Sorry I'm late! Hey, you look really nice."

She turned her head and smiled awkwardly at Jake as he took a seat beside her and greeted Mrs. Lucas. The old woman set a mug of what looked like black coffee down in front of Jake, "I was just about to toss this out."

She then handed Ellie her hot chocolate and gave her a knowing look before glancing back at Jake briefly and turning away to take a phone call. Ellie felt herself blush a little. Was it that obvious?

Ellie cleared her throat and addressed his earlier compliment, "Thank you. You look really nice as well," she added, noting the slacks and blazer he donned over a white button-up shirt.

"Thanks. Gotta look the part, you know?" He laughed, adjusting his tie; "I was never a suit guy."

"Yeah, well, I'm not much of a dress girl," Ellie countered, taking a sip of her hot chocolate, and setting it down quickly to add on, "I mean, I guess today was good…dress-in-a-dress kind of day…"

Crappy save. She didn't want him to think she wore the damn thing just because of him.

She gestured around the diner to change the subject, "So, you come here a lot."

"Yes, usually mornings. Then I head over to your place once school lets out. I'll admit, I was hoping you'd notice me a lot sooner than just yesterday."

Ellie's brows shot up at that statement and she spun her mug in its saucer nervously, "Oh, well, I just get a little…distracted. I see tons of people everyday."

"Is it nice to get a break for once?"

"Yeah, I guess," She pursed her lips, "You're very…observant, aren't you?"

He chuckled, shrugging as he brought the mug of black coffee to his lips, "I'm a teacher. It's what I do. Observe and report."

"Hey, Mr. Winters!"

They both turned in their seats at the sound of a young boy's voice. Henry Mills, Ellie recognized. She didn't know the name of most of her young customers, but there was no mistaking the Mayor's son. He was standing beside a pretty blonde woman whom Ellie didn't recognize. Storybrooke was fairly small, and she was sure she'd met just about everyone.

_Except Jake_, she reminded herself.

"Oh, hey, Ellie! Finally taking a break from that ice cream shop?"

Ellie's face fell and she let out an exasperated sigh, "Even the kids notice?"

"Well, it's true," Henry defended, looking up at the blonde, "Seems like a lot's changed in a couple of days. The town clock's working again and Ellie's out of her ice cream shop."

"Okay, kid, let's get you to school," the blonde replied sternly before turning back toward Ellie and Jake, "Sorry to be so rude. My name's Emma."

"Elizabeth Snow, but you can call me Ellie," she replied with a warm smile as Jake introduced himself beside her.

"She's my real mom," Henry added, puffing his chest out.

"Oh…wow," Jake said, his smile never faltering, "Well, isn't that something?"

Emma gave them an apologetic smile and placed her hand on Henry's shoulder, ushering him toward the front door, "It was nice meeting you. Come on, kid."

They watched the two go before Jake glanced at the clock overhead and sighed, "Is that the time? If it isn't too much trouble, would you mind if we met again?"

Ellie stayed silent for a moment before shaking her head, "No, not at all, actually."

"Great!" Jake grabbed his briefcase and thanked Mrs. Lucas for the coffee; "I can walk you to your shop if you'd like."

"No, it's all right. Andy threatened to keep the shop closed if I got back too early."

"It's a sign. You should start taking it easy, Miss Snow," he said, backing away toward the front door and never taking her eyes off her, "Have a little fun once in a while."

Ellie stayed quiet and waved as he made his way out before dropping it onto her lap and realizing he was right.

When she thought about it, it felt like several years had gone by since she took over the shop instead of just three. Since her parents' death, she worked open to close everyday without a second thought.

Henry's comment replayed in her mind over and over again, and she realized he was right. A lot _had_ changed in just two days.


End file.
